An East Bay woman, Carrie Lynn Grant, received a sentence of 27 months in federal prison this week for embezzling over $1.6 million from a charity dedicated to aiding young people. According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Grant, who is 62 and from Pleasant Hill, was the finance manager at the non-profit organization that offers educational resources to help youth excel in a competitive global economy. She was convicted of wire fraud, having admitted to diverting the charity's funds into her personal account from November 2017 to June 2023.
Documents from the case reveal that Grant lavished the embezzled funds on extravagant personal pleasures – including first-class airfare, courtside seats at a Golden State Warriors game, luxury boxes at a San Francisco 49ers match, and a Hawaiian condo. The justice system took a firm stance with Grant’s sentencing, which U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín handed down. However, the court has yet to decide the exact amount of restitution Grant is ordered to pay back to the charity. She will start her prison term on March 9, 2026, followed by three years of supervised release.
This case was brought to light by United States Attorney Craig Missakian and Agustin Lopez, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI, who announced the conviction and sentencing. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan M. Mateer, with the aid of Christine Tian and Amala James, and is the culmination of an extensive FBI investigation.
